Jalore Fort

Jalore Fort, also called Swarnagiri or the golden mount, is the main sight of Jalore in Rajasthan and was counted among the nine Maru forts held by the Paramaras. Built between the 8th and 10th centuries, it was taken in 1181 by Kirtipala, founder of the Songara Chauhan line of Jalore. His successor Udayasimha held out against Iltutmish in 1228, but under Kanhadadeva the fort fell to Alauddin Khalji in 1311. It later passed to Jodhpur State.

The fort sits on a sheer rock about 336 m high, walled and bastioned, and is reached only from the north by a winding path of some 3 km through three lines of defences, about an hour's climb. Gates such as the Suraj Pol lead inside to the ruined palace, water tanks and cut-stone walls. There is a Shiva temple with the samadhi of Jalandharnath, the Kila Masjid, the tomb of Malik Shah, and Jain temples to Adinath, Mahavira, Parshvanath and Shantinath, the white marble Adinath temple going back to the 8th century.